Tommy Koh

Tommy Koh trained in law in Singapore, at Harvard, and at Cambridge, and served as dean of the National University of Singapore’s law faculty from 1971 to 1974. He represented Singapore at the United Nations in two periods, 1968–1971 and 1974–1984, before serving as ambassador to the United States from 1984 to 1990. ¹

Koh chaired major negotiations over the international legal order. He presided over the final phase of the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, chaired preparatory and main committee work for the Rio Earth Summit, and later led Singapore’s negotiations for its free trade agreement with the United States. His work also included WTO dispute panels and a 1993 UN peace mission to Russia and the Baltic states. ¹

Alongside diplomacy, Koh led institutions including the National Arts Council, the Institute of Policy Studies, and the Asia-Europe Foundation. Harvard’s Program on Negotiation selected him for its 2014 Great Negotiator Award, recognizing work on maritime law, environmental diplomacy, the ASEAN Charter, and the Singapore–U.S. trade agreement. ^{1, 2}